How many babies could Governor Wolf have saved?

Dec 31, 2018 | 0 comments

The Pennsylvania Department of Health has released their latest report on statewide abortion statistics (2017). Here are a few facts to remember:

1) 30,000 abortions every year in Pennsylvania.

Imagine the Pittsburgh Penguins played a game to a completely empty arena. Those empty seats would still not equal to the number of babies lost to abortion in Pennsylvania just last year (2017).

A total of 30,011 abortions happened in Pennsylvania in 2017, which is a 23% drop in abortions since 2008, and the lowest on record since the state began collecting abortion statistics in 1975.

This improvement in lives saved is thanks in part to the amazing work of pregnancy care centers, the advancement in technology, and the updating of state and federal laws through the work of pro-life citizens and organizations like the Pennsylvania Family Institute. 

But it’s also a reminder that 30,000 abortions happen every year in Pennsylvania. Tragic.

Again, to wrap our minds around this number of abortions – if you went to the Dec. 27th Pittsburgh Penguins home game (18,639 in attendance) and the Dec. 29th Pittsburgh Panthers men’s basketball home game (6,182), those entire crowds are still under this abortion total.

This reality is exactly why Pennsylvania Family Institute continues to fight to save lives. Every single day, you help to create a culture that honors life from conception to natural death by partnering with PFI. Together, may we continue to do so in 2019 and beyond.

2) 436 babies aborted after 20 weeks, up 42% since 2012.

More women in Pennsylvania are having late-term abortions. There were 436 recorded abortions performed on pregnancies that were between 21-23 weeks; up 42% from 2012 (308).

Governor Tom Wolf vetoed legislation, Senate Bill 3, just a year ago (December 2017) that would have ended late-term abortion by limiting abortion to five months in pregnancy (20 weeks).

Poll after poll shows the majority of Americans support limits against abortion at such a late stage in pregnancy and yet Pennsylvania continues to permit such an outdated and extreme limit on abortion.

3) Dismemberment abortion continues in Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania had 1,627 babies aborted using the dismemberment abortion procedure, also known as Dilation and Evacuation, which kills the baby by tearing it apart limb by limb. This barbaric procedure is down 44% in Pennsylvania since 2012.

10 states have banned the dismemberment abortion procedure. Pennsylvania would have been on that list as well yet Governor Wolf vetoed the legislation, which was part of the five-month limit legislation, Senate Bill 3, this legislative session.

Had Governor Wolf signed Senate Bill 3 into law to end late-term and dismemberment abortion, hundreds of lives would have been saved in 2018 and beyond.

Again, this is exactly why we need people across the state fighting to save lives and helping to create a culture where life is ultimately honored from conception to natural death. May we get closer to this day in the year ahead.